1st February 2016. (Grab a cuppa, this is a long post!)
I fell asleep quickly only waking up at 2am to use the wagbag. It was a very mild night with absolutely no wind. I felt a flutter of excitement that I was ‘just’ 1000m shy of the summit and here I was outside at 2am with just a light jacket on. Needless to say I was optimistic about getting up two hours later at 4am ready to start walking at 5am. I couldn’t get back to sleep so cosily dozed. Bruce and I had been organised the night before so when we woke up all we had to do was eat and avoid knocking ice crystals from the tent walls onto our sleeping bags.

Johnny came by with hot drinking water, porridge oats and a snack bar around 4:45am. There had been a problem with the stove so the start was delayed. No matter, we both felt good. We felt ready. We started hiking at 5:30am and the temperature was amazingly warm and calm. It was -16C (3.2f) and the wind was around 10-15kph. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. Tincho commented that he’d never seen such a warm and calm summit night in all his experience.

After 5 minutes walking I had to take off my down jacket to avoid overheating. It quickly became clear that I don’t do well eating then immediately exerting myself. The nausea I’d had the past few mornings was back but I didn’t want to let it ruin my day so spoke to Johnny who gave some sound advice and within an hour I was feeling better. Over the past few days I realised I wasn’t able to keep the same pace as the boys. It really bothered me that I kept falling behind, although I was comfortable with my non-stop pace. I guess I just wanted to make sure we completed the climb as a team. I had a word with myself and said ‘you might be a few steps behind but it doesn’t make you weak, or have less of a right to be here.’

Click to enlarge

It wasn’t long after we set off that the sun started to rise and the majestic views started to unfold all around us. I’ll try to avoid a superlative overdose but suffice it to say that I’d never seen views like it. The inky star-studded sky took on a new hue as the fiery sun crept up over the horizon, gilding the distant mountains. As we approached Piedras Blancas, our first rest stop, I turned around to see how far we’d come. The sun was casting a shadow of Aconcagua right in front of me. I had never been so excited. Seeing the shadow of this peak was almost as much a goal for the expedition as reaching the top for me. Tincho took a photo of me and although my mouth and nose was covered you can see the smile in my eyes.

After the break at Piedras Blancas it was apparent I would not be able to maintain Johnny, Bruce and Rick’s pace. It’s hard to put it in words how it feels hiking at high altitudes. My body felt strong, and apart from a little intermittent calf discomfort, I felt very fit. Despite this your body just doesn’t let you function how you think it should. Each step lifting my plastic-clad foot felt like someone had ripped out my lungs and was using them as punch bags. I found myself breathing heavily, with reprieves only coming when we were faced with steep snow slopes I could get into a rhythm with. The slow pace meant my hands and feet had started to go numb but Tincho saved the day with the ‘hands under the armpits’ trick and I was good to go again.

As each step became increasingly challenging I slipped further behind the boys. It was only a gap of around maybe 10 minutes so I didn’t let it get to me. As we reached crampon point at the old refuge, Independencia, I was pretty exhausted. Johnny helped me tie my crampon, which I was having trouble knotting. The next section was the beautiful traverse along Portezuelo del Viento. After constantly looking at a steep hill it was nice to see the landscape unfold ahead again. As we approached La Cueva (6650m), a rocky outcrop at the base of the Canaleta, I could see the boys ahead getting ready to leave. I gave them a wave and they set off up the Canaleta.

Altitude swollen face selfie at La Cueva (6650m)

As we turned the corner a little snow started falling. Knowing a storm was forecast I suddenly became particularly conscious of the time; we had to make the summit by 3pm else we’d have to turn back empty-handed. Johnny and Tincho were communicating regularly on the radio and as we started tackling the Canaleta, we heard that the boys were taking a rest stop at the top. A quick note on the Canaleta. Everyone says this is the hardest part of the climb due to the steepness and the scree. We were fortunate to have had tons of snow underfoot and the Canaleta was actually one of my favourite parts of the summit push. A good steep snow slope means you can just plod up, one step at a time. We nestled closely into the rocks on the right, and Tincho let me lead the way up at my own pace. I had a burst of energy and felt strong.

We reached the top of the Canaleta at 12:45pm and I had at least two hours to go, based on my current pace. Tincho kept positive, saying I would definitely summit but deep down I was very worried. We got the awesome news over the radio that the boys had summited and were heading back our way. We crossed paths on the trail at 2:30pm and I congratulated them. Johnny and Tincho had a discussion, which I assume included whether I could continue or not. I told Bruce I didn’t think they would let me continue and asked him how long it was from there to the top. He estimated 45 mins and my heart sank. Johnny turned to me and said, “Lexi, you have 30 minutes… go get that summit”. I was elated.

I downed some energy gel Clif Bar Shot Bloks and we set off again. It felt like we had zoomed off but it was painfully slow. I remember Tincho stopping and making me rest and thinking to myself, ‘why are we stopping, we’re so close’. I said to him “I’m going to make it, I’m going to make it“. He gently reminded me, “WE’RE going to make it“. We set off once again and I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. It felt like seconds later that Tincho pointed to a big lump of rock ahead and said “that’s it!“. Those last 20 meters felt like one of those dreams where you’re running but you can’t make progress. It was 2:59pm and I had to clamber up a few boulders to reach the very top. At exactly 3pm Argentina time, 1st February 2016, I stood on the summit of Aconcagua; a dream that I had trained, saved and planned for over the past 5 years.

The snow which had been falling eased and the sun illuminated the summit through the clouds. Although there were no views from the top, the light was ethereal and it was incredibly still, quiet and warm. A wind-free summit was another first for Tincho. It was just the two of us standing there on the highest peak outside of the Himalaya at that moment. Tincho took some photos for me as my camera was frozen and we briefly celebrated. It was soon time to descend.

The snow suddenly started falling fast and heavily. It was soon a total white out. Tincho asked if I wanted to get roped up and given the conditions I agreed this was the best course. I led us down the Canaleta and back to La Cueva without a single slip or fall. Upon arrival I was startled by a guy sat on the ground looking a bit helpless. I initially didn’t understand what was going on but you could tell by the sombre mood it seemed serious. He was with two guides and they all seemed to be debating something. Tincho and I had a break, removed the rope and continued down. It transpired that the guy in the cave had a knee injury and they were trying to figure out how to get him down. Apparently he was kicking up a fuss about not needing rescue. Although it was a pretty minor situation it really brought home the reality of this peak. People die here.

Tincho and I carried on down through the white out conditions and all I could think was that if Tincho wasn’t there I’d be a dead woman. From departing La Cueva I had literally no concept of where we were and put my complete trust in him to find the way. The snow was 12” or deeper in places and we both kept stumbling. At one point we gave up walking and glissaded down which was a lot of fun. I stopped for a pee break at Independencia and looking at the snow beneath me I was glad for all the pre-hydration the previous days. My urine was so dark; I was very dehydrated. I wondered how bad it would have been had I not started well hydrated. I chugged half a litre and we sped downhill once again.

As we reached Piedras Blancas, we took our final rest before the push into camp. A tiny gap emerged in the thick clouds above and a patch of pure blue peeked through, with the surrounding cloud lined with silver. In my exhausted and elated state it felt magical and was just the pick me up we needed. The last 30 minutes or so into camp felt long but we finally made it. The boys had only arrived about an hour ahead of us and it was amazing to reach camp and celebrate our success together. What a day! We relaxed for the rest of the evening and Bruce and I exchanged stories. Johnny came by with some ramen noodles covered with cheese which I couldn’t really stomach, but I forced myself to eat as much as I could. We fell asleep quickly after dinner. It had been exactly a 13 hour round-trip for Tincho and I. Not a bad day walking!

Knackered after a successful summit of Aconcagua!

From the IMG blog: “Just off the sat phone with Jonathan Schrock and team. 100% on the top. Great conditions this morning but snowing with minimal visibility for the descent. No matter, the entire team reached the summit and all are back safely now at high camp. A big congratulations to Jonathan, Martin, Lexi, Bruce and Rick. Nice job.“ https://www.mountainguides.com/wordpress/2016/02/01/aconcagua/summit-of-aconcagua

This post is dedicated to Bruce who, at the time of writing, is one day away from flying to Alaska to attempt Denali. Good luck Bruce!

January 31st 2016. I didn’t manage to sleep until around 1:30/2am. I was wide awake and just couldn’t drift off. I woke up grumpy, not helped by the condensation in the tent making the outer fabric of my sleeping bag damp for the second night running.

One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that however you’re feeling, it never hurts to behave in a positive manner; you never know, you might fool yourself into thinking you’re more cheerful than you are. If all else fails, bacon is a good way to start the day. Imagine my delight when we were served bagels with bacon and cheese again for breakfast. Delicious as usual. I had one and a half which was probably half too much but you can’t really say no to extra food on the hill. One thing is for sure, I have not gone hungry on this trip.

Today we moved up to high camp at 5900m to be reunited with the kit we’d stashed the previous day. My pack felt heavier today than any other so far. Tincho estimated it was only around 15kg so I suspect my lack of sleep and overeating at breakfast contributed to feeling less energetic. It was another hard slog but, as always, getting into a steady non-stop rhythm is the best way to approach a challenging day. Despite slightly heavier packs than yesterday it only took us 15 minutes longer to get to camp. It certainly helped that the snow was more compact having melted and frozen last night.

We pitched the tents and tried to get settled. The game was on. We started to get our backpacks sorted ready for summit push first thing tomorrow morning. There was a climber camping near us who made conversation as we were arriving. He was very odd. He made a strange attempt at humour which came across offensive; disparaging his guide and making some reference to Johnny ‘getting it from behind’ because he was sharing a tent with Tincho. I thought it could have been American humour I didn’t understand, but upon querying it, Bruce and Johnny assured me he was just a dick. First uncomfortable experience with another climber on the mountain.

Camp was a bleak place situated on a large plateau with rocky stacks tinged with yellow from what appeared to be sulphur. It was very busy with climbers on the way up to the top, and on the way down. There was a mixture of sick, injured, exhausted, excited, elated and weird people. The whole place smelled a little like stale urine. The toilet area was very well protected from the driving wind which battered the rest of the campsite therefore there was a mountain of human waste everywhere you looked. So much for the strict ‘Leave No Trace’ rules on the mountain. I duly used my wagbag.

It’s challenging to do anything quickly at high altitudes and even walking up the hill to get down to the toilet area was a lung buster. I had the pleasure of visiting the shit pit around 3 times that afternoon, thanks to my conscious efforts to stay hydrated. I was determined not to let a failure to self-manage fluids (or food) be my downfall on this trip. Having got our packs sorted it was just a case of eating dinner and continuing to drink.

You know, I once spent the best part of a year travelling around the world. Around 4 months into the trip I stopped in Toronto, Canada to stay with friends. The first question asked was “what would you like to eat?“. I answered, “anything as long as it comes with mashed potatoes“. After travelling through Asia for months all I craved was a bowl of mashed potato. My delightful hosts obliged with the biggest bowl of mash I’d ever seen. It’s my ultimate comfort food.

Back to Argentina. When Johnny arrived at the tent with a bowl of mashed potato, topped with bacon and mushroom gravy, I could barely believe my luck. It was another delicious meal and perhaps the perfect pre-summit treat. I was absolutely made up. After a nice mug of Sweet Dreams tea (not taking any chances getting kip tonight) it was 7:30pm and we were in bed ready to rest. The summit push started soon.

From the IMG blog: “Jonathan checked in today, reporting that the team and he had made their move to high camp. Weather is good and winds were light. All members made the move without issue. That was all great news. Plan is to prep summit gear, eat and drink, rest (as much is possible at that altitude) and get ready for a summit bid in the morning. Forecast is favorable. Now’s the time to see if all their patience and hard work will pay off. They’ve done all they could to put themselves in a good position. We wish them the best for tomorrow.” https://www.mountainguides.com/wordpress/2016/01/31/aconcagua/aconcagua-team-in-position/

30th January 2016. I woke up in the night after a strange dream about being in Russia. I had just finished reading the excellent book Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eicher, which is a true story about a disaster which occurred in the Ural Mountains in 1959 (highly recommended, but perhaps not while you’re climbing a mountain!), so it wasn’t much of a stretch to understand why I was dreaming about that.

I took a visit to the bathroom and when I returned I was chilled to the core. I shivered for another two hours in my cold sleeping bag which was soaked by condensation on the outside, before finally warming up and falling back to sleep.

A few hours later we woke up to a still, bright and sunny day so the decision to carry to camp III was made.

This meant the plan was back on track and after the carry today, tomorrow we would move in to camp III , then attempt the summit early the following morning. We had our breakfast, packed up and set off.

The terrain was fairly gentle but the deep snow which fell yesterday meant some tough slopes, again around knee deep at times.

We made good progress and arrived at camp III, 5900m, in 3hrs 45 mins. This marked the highest altitude I’d ever been to (highest before being Kilimanjaro, 5895m). Despite only being 5m higher, I felt like I had left my comfort zone and was now heading into unfamiliar territory. We were still 1000m lower than we were aiming for so I found it interesting to assess how my body was adjusting.

I stood there in Camp III taking it all in as I remembered how exhausted I’d felt in the past reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro yet here I was at almost the same altitude but carrying an 18kg backpack and I still had gas left in the tank. It was very interesting making the comparison and I considered whether a contributing difference was my role on the expedition; here I was a client, but on Kilimanjaro I am always the trip leader where my focus is on the wellbeing of my clients.

That said, I was freezing and my calf had been cramping up for the last hour, so I actually felt a bit miserable. We stashed our gear before descending fast to camp II by 4:30pm to chill out. The sun had been warming our tents most of the day so Bruce and I took it in turns to have a good baby wipe wash (4 whole wipes!). I stayed in the warmth of the tent and relaxed while Bruce took in the sun.

A few hours later another spectacular dinner was served. On the menu today we had a bowl of rice topped with a mountain of bacon and parmesan, washed down with a mug of hot mint tea.

Fun fact: When you’re carrying all your gear on a mountain, even grams matter when you’re packing. As a direct result of this you start doing crazy weight-saving things cutting your closed-cell sleeping mat in half, removing garment labels, shortening your toothbrush handle or even re-using teabags.

Advice: If you’re planning on saving a few grams by re-using herbal tea bags, don’t! If you fail to heed my advice know that one herbal teabag has a maximum of two uses, the third is tasteless.

29th January 2016. What a great start to the morning with delicious bacon and cheese bagels. As forecast the sun was shining and the sky was blue, so we packed our gear and broke camp. My first mistake of the day was overdoing it at breakfast with 1.5 bagels as I got really nauseous breaking camp. There was no time to feel sorry for myself and off we went up the hill to camp II.

My second mistake of the day was starting the day wearing too many layers (duh, idiot; ‘Be bold, start cold’). I spent what felt like ages faffing around taking off my jacket but I was soon back on track. Despite the clear sky and sunshine the wind was consistently high with 30-something mph gusts at times. The previous day’s snow storm meant we were left breaking trail through the snow on the never-ending scree slopes. For each step in the snow it was a gamble as to whether you’d sink, slide back or power across it. The energy sapping wind, deep snow and with me still getting over the nausea from the morning, it was a mental battle. At one point a gust of wind knocked me to my knees. We stopped for a break and I realised I was exhausted. We still had a few hours to go so I downed as much water as I could and we kept on moving.

Suddenly I found my rhythm, or maybe the terrain got easier, and I felt stronger. Stopping for another short break we rehydrated and continued up towards the col. The wind by this point was like walking up a downward escalator; you’re definitely moving but you’re not making any progress. It was a constant battle for us all to be stronger than the wind with our heavy packs.

As we reached the saddle we were briefly protected from the wind but our new challenge was thigh-deep snow. We plodded on, one slow step at a time, and arrived at camp. Tincho ‘the Invincible’ had gone ahead to pitch two of the tents which was a major help. We arrived into camp, all helped to pitch the final tent and moved in a few minutes later.

I was very dehydrated so made a concerted effort to drink 2 litres over the next couple of hours. This was all well and good except the ‘bathroom’ was behind a boulder located down the hill, across the frozen stream and up the other hill covered with 8” deep snow. After my second visit I realised I had a problem to solve.
The problem: long, arduous, cold walk to bathroom and no pee bottle (seriously, without a funnel – and who wants to carry that – do women really use pee bottles?).
Inspired solution: A 1-litre ziplok bag in tent vestibule. Win. It is moments like this for the female mountaineer that you really are grateful for an understanding and trusted climbing partner. Thank you Bruce!

We literally chilled in our freezing cold tent until dinner time, which was another treat of more awesome burritos. With our water bottles refilled and bladders emptied again, it was time for tomorrow’s briefing. The weather forecast looked bad again with heavy snow and strong winds expected. The suggestion Tincho and Johnny made was that they would do a load carry to camp III without the three of us (clients), so we could save our strength for summit. If weather was too bad for the guys to carry, we would all rest and either do a heavy full load move up to camp III the following day when the wind was expected to die down, or possibly hire a porter to help with this. We’d then aim to summit the following morning. (OMG! This is getting REAL!)

As always on Aconcagua, it all depended on the weather. According to Tincho, this was the worst season he’d seen on Aconcagua for at least 10 years. Certainly at that point no other IMG Aconcagua teams that season had successfully summited, and very few other teams had made it since the season started in late November. It felt quite hopeless.

28th January 2016. I had a very disturbed sleep, topped off by a horrendous snow storm this morning. Bruce and I knew it wasn’t looking good for the move up to Camp II which was the plan. We’d been up around an hour when Johnny came by to let us know the forecast and plan for the day. In his words “I always have to step outside the tent to make a decision for the day, and this morning I had to wear goggles to take a shit so my expectations were confirmed. Rest day”.

This came as disappointing news to us both as moving up to Camp II was a big step closer to the summit push and with the delays at Plaza Argentina our summit window was shrinking. That said, with a pounding headache developing, a chance to rest and rehydrate was a silver lining. Johnny came back a while later with breakfast. What a champ. Pancakes with bacon and loads of hot water for morning tea. I had taken a supply of dulce de leche from Plaza Argentina so that was added to the pancakes. It was absolutely delicious. After breakfast a visit to the ‘bathroom’ behind a rock in the snow storm was made interesting; trying to hold open a plastic bag to take a dump into, in gusting winds, is a challenge. (Overshare? Reality).

Rest days are pretty dull. Sit, wait, drink, play cards, drink, eat, drink, pee, read, pee, eat.
Add white-out snow storms and insane winds and it’s an awful way to spend the day. Perched up at 4900m in a valley we were camping in something resembling a funnel. In fact Tincho told us the next day that tents are regularly destroyed at this particular campsite due to the wind.

Being inside your tent in an environment like this is unearthly. If you listen carefully you can hear the wind gently whistling at the top of the valley like the breath of a faun on a spring day. Moments later a growling bear version of the wind creeps towards you before your ears start to deceive you and you think you’re actually listening to the sound of a jet plane going overhead. Then it hits you like going five rounds with Mike Tyson. The force of the wind distorts the tent, the poles warp, guylines become as taught as violin strings and it feels like the ground is shaking beneath you. Then silence. The mountain breathes. As Tyson himself once said “It’s ludicrous these mortals even attempt to enter my realm.”

Sit, wait, drink, play cards, drink, eat, drink, pee, read, pee, eat.

Dinner time finally came around and we were treated to a yummy pasta dish with more bacon. Let’s just pause here. They say an army marches on its stomach and International Mountain Guides (IMG) who were overseeing the running of the trip (with the support of Grajales Expeditions on the ground in Argentina) know this. I think it would take a lot of persuasion for me to work with another company for big mountain objectives because of the unparalleled emphasis on bacon consumption by IMG.

I tucked into another one of my cinnamon oat bars for dessert and finished my mug of camomile tea. Another great part of expeditions, apart from the bacon consumption, is the simplicity of it. Things like doing the dishes – simple. Take one square of precious toilet paper and wipe down the inside of your Fozzils bowl (the only bowl for the mountains in my opinion – review coming later). For stubborn food residue you can add a drop of hot tea to another piece of toilet paper and it works like a charm. Dishes done, and so to bed! Tincho said that the weather was forecast to be calmer in the morning but the wind seemed to be getting worse all day.

Here’s a quote from my journal that day: “As I write, double the amount of ice has built up on the tent in the last hour. It’s freezing. I hadn’t quite appreciated how extreme the conditions could be. As I lie here, 21:26, the tent is shaking and it feels as if the ground is moving. I don’t know the wind speed but while the tent shakes, pieces of ice are falling onto my face which is only uncovered enough to breathe at 4900m. My foot keeps going dead from the cold inner boots I am wearing in an attempt to dry them out. THIS is mountaineering.“

27th January 2016. I’d fallen asleep around 8pm the night before and although it was a disturbed night I got plenty of hours in. Breakfast was delivered to our tent and it was an amazing way to start the day; shredded potato with bacon and scrambled eggs!

After breakfast we got ready and we departed at 10am for our load carry up to Camp II. It was very windy and cold and we started at a slow pace on a gentle incline. The first part of the day was pretty boring actually, and the cold weather combined with numb toes and intermittent cold hands made it an unenjoyable experience. It’s not all unicorns and rainbows on the hill you know. As we continued things started to irritate me. I struggled with my sunglasses fogging up, I had a hair in my mouth and was generally irked. I then got a headache.

After reaching the top of the boring uphill slog you arrive on a stunning plateau with views across the Andes as far as the eye can see. It made the hike worthwhile and was definitely rejuvenating. It was there we had our long rest break for the day and had a chance to soak it all in. The next section took us on a flat traverse around the slope of the hill until the last little uphill section into camp. There were knee-deep patches of snow which slowed me up further and added fatigue to my aching legs. It was a really tough day.

From there on I found myself slightly on the higher end of 2 on Johnny’s 4-point scale (1 being top of the world, 4 being done in) and for the final push up and around the corner towards the camp and I was firmly at a 3, with trouble getting my breathing rhythm right and falling behind the rest of the team. I arrived into camp just a few minutes after everyone else where we claimed the pitches and stashed our gear.

The way back down took around 45 minutes and was far easier. Offloading the extra gear and having flat and then gentle downhill terrain was just the rest I needed. We went back to our tents and Tincho delivered us some hot water. Drinking our herbal tea we tried to keep warm and Bruce and I chatted about the day. A few moments later there was a knock on the tent and food was served. This evening we were treated to two enormous burritos filled with rice, chicken, cheese and red peppers. Absolutely delicious. With full bellies and well hydrated we got into our sleeping bags and tried to drift off amidst the snow storm outside that was really picking up.

26th January 2016. I slept badly. When I did finally drift off I had a horrible dream about someone I knew dying, which was disconcerting. All night I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath or get comfortable. I woke up out of sorts and disorganised, not the best start to our move up to Camp 1. I rushed breakfast so I could finish packing and break camp without delaying everyone else. I was shattered. I just wanted to sleep.

We shared out and packed the rest of the group gear and despite carrying packs almost as heavy as our load carry two days prior, the hike took us 70 minutes less. Acclimatisation really does work! That said, it wasn’t an easy walk and I did feel challenged at times.

It’s strange the things you take for granted. After days of walking through the low level valleys having the trails to ourselves, it was an adjustment arriving at Base Camp where there were lots of people. Of course the three course meals, heated base camp tent, lovely loos and lots of chill-out time made up for that. Now I felt strangely disappointed that we were sharing the trail with another team on the higher mountain. Despite taking the lesser-trodden route to the summit Aconcagua is still a vastly popular peak, not least because it is one of the Seven Summits. Reality check time.

When we arrived into camp there was a bit of a fiasco as we discovered another team had stolen the pitches where we’d stashed our gear a couple of days prior. Our kit was still buried under the wind-break stones surrounding each pitch but the other team had gone ahead and pitched their tents anyway. Tincho made sure they knew they weren’t being very respectful. We found alternative pitches, moved all our cached gear across the campsite and started pitching the tents in our new spot. Bruce and I were going to share a tent going forward in order to keep the group gear weight to a minimum.

After helping each other pitch the three tents, making sure to stake them down well knowing the windy conditions at this camp, we moved in and set up our beds. Johnny had collected our empty water bottles and returned shortly after with them refilled. A little later he brought round a pot of hot water for our flasks. At Plaza Argentina base camp we were provided with the choice of herbal teabags, soup powder and cocoa to take with us for the upper mountain section. I’d gone for a mixture of various herbal teas plus a few packs of soup to keep things interesting.

I hadn’t drunk enough water during the day so figured soup would be the sensible choice that evening for the electrolytes, extra calories and also to work well as an appetizer for our meal later on (yes, I know how that sounds – I was already used to being spoilt at mealtimes!). Bruce and I relaxed in the tent and debriefed on the day as we waited until dinner time. You may be noticing a theme here… food, walk, camp, rest, food, sleep. What a wonderful way to spend a day.

So we hear a knock at the tent and Johnny is there ready to serve our dinner and top up our hot water flasks. What service! So, you know when I mentioned about the amazing meals at base camp, and how spoilt we were? Well dinner was… cheese burgers! THREE each, served in a toasted sesame seeded bun with mayo, mustard and barbecue sauce. Three, full-size cheese burgers. Yes! There are no words for the pure joy I felt at that moment. I nailed two and a half before I was absolutely stuffed.

Happy, happy. Post burger feast smile.

After dinner it was time to get into sleeping bags and keep warm. It was just 7:20pm but outside a snow storm was coming in and it was getting extremely windy. I had a slight headache due to dehydration and tiredness (or cheeseburger overdose) but I knew drinking plenty of water and having a good night’s rest would sort it out. Fed, watered and cosy in our little tent, it was time for a little bit of light reading (‘Dead Mountain’, my e-book about a fatal Russian mountain disaster) and lights out.

25th January 2016. I woke up at 7:20 and had a cosy snooze until 8am. I got up and went to breakfast. Today there was a fresh stock of dulce de leche to go with the pancakes so I smothered each one with thick layers of this sweet, caramel heaven. After breakfast I called home and managed to speak to my Mum briefly on the satellite phone which was really nice. I also took a bit of time to enjoy the scenery and watched one of my favourite types of cloud, the lenticular cloud, bobbing along on its journey across the sky. It may sound pretty dull but in our hectic, non-stop, stressful and overwhelming lives, how often do we have the time to watch the clouds.

The rest of the morning was spent listening to music and reading my book, Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar. The book was recommended by Bruce when we were in Mendoza so I bought and downloaded it to my phone at the hotel before we left. It started off brilliantly and I was hooked. Thanks for the recommendation Bruce! We were gathered together in the group tent and Bruce remember he’d brought some playing cards with him. He and Johnny taught the rest of us how to play Hearts and we had a couple of rounds while we waited for lunch.

A curried ratatouille style dish with rice and cheese was served for lunch, followed by fruit salad and yet more dulce de leche. Another fantastic meal.

After lunch we continued playing Hearts, with the rule the first to 150 points loses. I still didn’t completely grasp how to play the game so wasn’t doing brilliantly. Bruce and Johnny were card game masters and kept winning. Tincho also held his own. Someone had to be the loser and I was comfortable with that.

In this game I had racked up a lot of points very fast but had managed to see off the two others. I was close to defeat and it was a head to head – Johnny vs me. The overall champ vs. the overall loser. It was tense. The tent went quiet. Johnny, who had been blasé about his Hearts playing skills, made his move. Oohhh, it was the wrong move. Bam, 150 points. First to 150 loses.
I still wasn’t sure how the game worked, so innocently asked “so Johnny, does that make you the loser?”. The whole tent erupted with laughter at Johnny’s look of defeat (you had to be there).

With my card game victory I retreated to the warmth of my sleeping bag to read my book until dinner. The weather was really coming in now. It was freezing and extremely windy. Food time soon came around so I snuggled up into my down jacket and walked across to the tent. Dinner was a delicious hot broth followed by chicken breast with mashed potatoes, then a really light, delicate orange iced cake. There was an excellent baker at Plaza Argentina!
After dinner we got the great news that we we’re moving up to camp 1 tomorrow. Exciting! Bed time for a good rest ahead of another heavy carry day tomorrow.

It was a very windy and noisy night. I’d only been asleep an hour before I awoke wondering if the tent would fly away. After a futile few hours tossing and turning, I figured I’d try relaxing to music for a while. It worked. I found my eyes getting heavy and my mind quieting. I put in my earplugs and went to sleep solidly for four hours. The next morning we had another great breakfast of yogurt, pancakes and eggs before packing the group loads of food, fuel, pots and pans and so on, to carry up to Camp 1. I was anxious about the day and how I’d cope with my first heavy load carry, particularly after a rough night’s sleep.

We set off and the day started great with us all maintaining a strong steady pace. It was very cold so we kept our warm layers on. I was quietly glad of the cool temperatures to keep us comfortable despite the additional exertion of our load carry. After about an hour we stopped for a water and snack break and I adjusted my backpack which made life a little easier.

The next section of the climb was the part of the mountain I was most excited and curious about, los penitentes. Penitentes are icy blade-like formations which are found in clusters, generally facing the sun. They are caused by a scientific process called sublimation in which solids turn to gas without first becoming liquid. These otherworldly pinnacles tend to be found at high altitude in areas with dry air and sunshine, particularly between Argentina and Chile in the High Andes. The literal translation of ‘los penitentes‘ is ‘the penitents‘, named as such because they resemble the tall, pointed hoods worn by the Catholic penitents during Holy Week processions. It is also said that they look like crowds of people kneeling in penance, looking toward God.

There are few words to describe the beauty and mystery of the penitentes. These cold, faceless figures surround you like a dense winter jungle. They seek to trick you, enticing you with the illusion of easy passage through an icy maze. They drain your energy as you tentatively progress over their unstable and angular surfaces like the steps of a first dance.

I see the penitentes as a representation of the humility required in the mountains. Individually some penitentes are large, some are small but together they form something bigger than yourself. They are a vast obstacle and a formidable challenge. To progress through the penitentes you must weave your way through their path, you cannot forge directly ahead. At times it feels like a standoff, man versus nature, but fail to stay humble and respect your environment and their sharp edges will catch you and remind you into whose territory you are straying.

The wind was picking up speed and it was getting colder. Despite the challenging terrain of the penitentes I had settled into a comfortable breathing rhythm and I felt strong and was moving well. After another two hours and another two rest breaks the bitter wind roaring down the valley towards us picked up some more. I suddenly felt myself weaken. As the penitentes grew sparse we approached a field of loose rock and scree. One step forward, a quarter step back. You’ve just got to keep going. Another hour passed and it was time for a break. I forced myself to eat and drink as much as I could. I needed my body to find those reserves. I was tired.

The final push into camp was briefly through more penitentes which made the going easier but it was short-lived as we soon progressed up a steep scree slope with multiple switchbacks. I paused, took a deep breath and switched mental gears. I needed to get back into the comfortable non-stop rhythm I’d enjoyed earlier in the day. I let the guys get a few steps ahead of me, put my head down and walked. One step at a time, not stopping. Johnny stayed behind with me for the final section, “dig deep, just 20ft to go Lexi”. I arrived into camp just 2-3 minutes behind the others having managed my pace and preserved my energy.

We unpacked and cached our loads but not before weighing our packs. I was amazed that we were carrying only 19kg each. I calculated later that I’d carried 35% of my body weight from 4200m to 4900m that day. Tincho carried double; 38kg.

Now it was time for the descent. My right calf was screaming and I was feeling pretty drained. We were keen to move down the scree and penitentes quickly but in doing so Rick stumbled and snapped his trek pole arresting his slip. Fortunately he was unscathed. At 6:50pm we arrived back into camp after a very long day. At 7:30pm we tucked into a dinner of hot soup, vegetable stew and a tiramisu style cake with fruit. Our energy levels were so low we were all freezing. Only Tincho and Johnny finished their meal.

As we sat at the table I saw Bruce turning pale and he said he felt faint. We got him laying down on the ground, legs elevated, to recover. Our group tent had a gas heater so there was some semblance of warmth so we got Bruce huddled up next to it as he hydrated and recovered. Nobody said it, but we all knew how Bruce felt. We felt it too.

After dinner we had a chat about the day, debriefed on how we’d progressed and discussed the onward plan. It was then we learnt that the thunderstorm we had been admiring from above when we arrived at Plaza Argentina had caused 20 landslides (18 minor, 2 major) on the main highway between Argentina and Chile blocking the progress of 36,000 vehicles between the countries. As a direct result of this crisis all the emergency helicopters in Argentina had been dispatched to help with recovery. Consequently Aconcagua National Park rangers had to close ascents to the upper mountain from Base Camp because helicopter support in the event of an emergency wouldn’t have been possible so it was not worth them (and us) taking the risk.

Our plan to move up to Camp 1 the next day was put on hold. A mandatory rest day at Plaza Argentina was in order. At 9pm it was time for bed and to get cosy and warm in my sleeping bag.

23rd January 2016. Today was a rest and acclimatisation day at Plaza Argentina. After a disturbed night’s sleep because of the warm temperatures I woke up at 7:30 to the noise of helicopter blades right above my tent. I was feeling pretty tired so tried to fall back to sleep. No chance. The helicopter noisily hovered above me and landed just behind my tent.

I got out of my sleeping bag, pulled on some layers and dragged myself out of my tent for breakfast, which was at a leisurely 8:30. I am not a morning person and the sound of helicopters landing was now on the list of ways I do not like to be woken up.

One thing I do like is food. Breakfast was strawberry yogurt, scrambled eggs and really delicious pancakes which I covered in dulce de leche (my new favourite topping for everything). It was the perfect start to the day. For some reason the coffee tasted like vegetables this morning. Johnny had mentioned at the hotel in Mendoza that he dislikes the flavour of Argentine coffee but I couldn’t fault it down there. Now I understood. Onto the herbal tea for me.

We had no plans for the day apart from a visit to the camp doctor to check how we were doing, so I figured I’d take advantage of the sunshine to wash and dry some of my clothes (there was a basin with running water at camp), sew up the hole in my trekking pants (caused by dismounting the mule the previous morning) and sort my gear. The following day we were scheduled to do a gear carry so today was the day to split our kit into the things which will continue to the upper mountain, the things that the mules would take round to Plaza de Mulas for our descent, and the things I’d need for the next couple of nights at Plaza Argentina.

All of a sudden my tent became a bombsite! There was stuff everywhere; laundry drying, kit in piles, and generally a lot of chaos. I said farewell to my hiking boots, my small daypack and lightweight hiking pants. Shit was about to get real. Keeping hydrated was absolutely my priority for this trip so I ensured I drank a litre every couple of hours. As someone who cannot abide the taste of plain water, drinking plenty of water was made far easier with the incredible Bolero drink mixes. Highly, highly recommended (let them know I sent you).

11am came around, our team’s appointment with the camp doctor for our health checks. The doctor was a climber himself and was super friendly. It didn’t stop me being nervous. I’ve never been a fan of visiting the doctor and the results from this appointment could be the difference between me continuing or not. We had a good chat about my previous altitude experience, how I was feeling and then he checked my BP, O2 saturation and pulse. My numbers were good enough (95bpm, O2 82%, BP 130/75), I felt brilliant and the doctor was happy. My go-ahead to proceed to the high mountain was given, along with everyone else in the team. I was already in a great mood and this was the cherry on top.

There was nothing more to do but relax with my new favourite albums (Justin Bieber – Purpose and The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness). I drank another litre of water. The ominous sound of thunder started rolling around camp and I heard a few spots of rain on my tent. There was something comforting about my cosy little tent cocoon.

It wasn’t long until lunchtime so I wandered over to the group tent and was astonished at what I saw on the table – three huge pizzas!! One with peppers, tomato with olives, one with onions and olives, and the other with ham and artichoke. Pizza at 4200m! Obviously every single slice was devoured in minutes. It was this lunchtime that the lads noticed I seemed I had the biggest appetite in the team.

Over lunch we discussed the upper mountain day to follow and the guides offered some advice on packing for this. I returned to the tent and tweaked my packing accordingly. As I was stretching my legs around camp I bumped into the camp doctor who invited me to go bouldering with him. As tempted as I was I thought better of playing around on rocks before a load carrying day so I retired again to my tent with Justin Bieber. The thunder had moved much closer and was almost above camp. Given my levels of hydration and frequent visits to the bathroom, I had visions of lightning striking the metal-encased toilet, being electrocuted, and falling down the hole. Fortunately I got out unscathed.

According to both our guides, they have never seen rain at Plaza Argentina before. I didn’t ask if this was promising or not. Best to stay ignorant and remain positive at this stage, I thought. Everyone knew that the weather on Aconcagua was a harsh mistress.

Let’s move onto the most important part of the day. Dinner time. Rib eye steak with egg salad followed by a caramelised apple pie. There was seconds of steak but everyone else was full. I didn’t want to see good meat go to waste. I had seconds and thirds. Happy, happy girl. Bed time!